CG Responses New England March 2007

A Coast Guard helicopter crew assisted with the medical evacuation of a civilian crewman who experienced medical complications while aboard a submerged U.S. Navy submarine conducting sea trials about 77 nautical miles south-southwest of Cape Cod. The fast-attack submarine, USS Pittsburgh (SSN 720) resurfaced after the 25-year-old Portsmouth, N.H., Naval Shipyard employee began having neurological problems. He was safely transferred by small boat to a Navy submarine support vessel and continued to receive treatment by Pittsburgh’s corpsman. A crewman aboard the support vessel contacted the Coast Guard to request a medical evacuation of the victim. An HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod arrived and hoisted the crewman. He was taken to the airport in Hyannis, Mass., where EMS were waiting for further transport to Cape CodHospital. His condition was unknown. (Dec. 14)

Hoisted from fishing boat

Air Station Cape Cod, Mass.

A documentary film cameraman was medically evacuated by a Coast Guard helicopter after reportedly suffering from seasickness about 161 miles east of Nantucket, Mass. The 36-year-old cameraman’s condition became serious after two days of sickness aboard a fishing boat. Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England received a distress call over HF radio channel 2182 requesting medical evacuation for the ailing cameraman. An HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter launched from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod and arrived on-scene. Weather conditions at the time of the hoist were 4- to 6-foot seas and winds from 15 to 20 knots. The cameraman was hoisted from the 77-foot fishing boat and was scheduled to be flown to HyannisBarnstableAirport to be transferred to EMS. (Dec. 7)

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Barge strikes yacht

Quantico Wharf, Md.

A sportfishing yacht sank in the WicomicoRiver about five miles west of Salisbury, Md., after a diesel barge knocked a piling into it. The Coast Guard received a report from the master of a tug that his diesel barge had hit the piling about half a mile from QuanticoWharf and struck the port bow of the 46-foot sportfisherman. No one was hurt, and the diesel barge did not rupture. About 2 gallons of the sportfisherman’s fuel leaked out. An absorbent boom was placed around the area. All but the flying bridge of the boat was under water. The Coast Guard was investigating the incident with the Maryland Department of the Environment and the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office. (Dec. 6)

Night aboard disabled boat

Air Station Atlantic City, N.J.

The Coast Guard rescued five hunters after they spent the night aboard their disabled boat in a New Jersey creek. The night before, a family member of one of the hunters reported to Coast Guard Station Cape May, N.J., that the five hadn’t returned from a duck hunting trip. The boat owner had reportedly left Jakes Landing in Dennis Creek near Wildwood, N.J., in a 16-foot duck boat around 5 a.m. and were expected to be back at 4:30 p.m. A rescue helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City was launched to search for the missing hunters. In the course of the search, a flare was launched by the missing hunters to alert the helicopter to their presence. All five men and one dog were hoisted aboard the helicopter and flown back to the air station where they were examined by local EMS and released to their families. (Dec. 8)

Three aboard burning boat

Air Station Miami

Crewmembers from Coast Guard Station Fort Pierce, Fla., and Air Station Miami responded to a report of a 61-foot boat on fire about 50 miles east of Fort Pierce. Three people on board the burning boat abandoned ship and were found in their life raft by a good Samaritan. All three persons were safely hoisted to a Coast Guard HH-65 Dolphin helicopter and were en route to St. Lucie County International Airport. No medical services had been requested. (Dec. 1)

Two men, 28-footer missing

Air Stations Miami and Clearwater, Fla.

The Coast Guard suspended its search for two Florida men, ending a massive search that began after the pair’s 28-foot pleasure boat reportedly became disabled about 27 miles southwest of Dry Tortugas, Fla. The men, both 31 years old, were reported to have departed from Naples, Fla. One of the men called a family member using a satellite phone and reported they could only use one of two engines, were running low on fuel and were trying to reach the Dry Tortugas for assistance. A family member called the Coast Guard later to report that they had lost communications with the two men. The Coast Guard immediately diverted a Coast Guard C-130 Hercules aircraft already flying over the Florida Straits and launched Coast Guard Cutter Chandeleur to search the waters near the last known position of the two men. The owner of the boat reported that flares and personal flotation devices were on board, but the boat was not equipped with a VHF radio or an EPIRB. The Coast Guard coordinated a massive, multiagency search in the Florida Straits for two days, including aircraft from Coast Guard Air Stations Miami and Clearwater, Fla., U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Moody Air Force Base as well as the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Dolphin. Combined, the aircraft and vessels searched more than 9,000 square miles. Despite the aggressive search and significant number of assets used in the search, the boat and men all remained missing. (Dec. 7)